Lexus burnishes green credentials with Eco Challenge philanthropy program

Luxury automaker Lexus is working to bolster its image as an environmentally-conscious company via its Lexus Eco Challenge education initiative starting later this month.

The Toyota Motor Corp.-owned brand has partnered with book publisher Scholastic for the fourth incarnation of the challenge, which encourages middle- and high-school students to develop solutions to the day’s pressing environmental issues. The company is offering $500,000 in scholarships and grants to winning participants.

“Lexus customers are very attuned to philanthropy and want to ensure that the products they buy are from companies that are socially responsible,” said Nancy Hubbell, prestige communications manager at Lexus, Torrance, CA. “The Lexus Eco Challenge was designed with ‘pay it forward’ in mind.

“Lexus is committed to the environment through our products and our policies, but this program is designed to get many people engaged in improving the environment in creative and rewarding ways,” she said.

Scholastic features the Challenge on its Web site at http://www.scholastic.com/lexus, where visitors can find information on the program and register to participate.

Here is a video from the Web site explaining the registration process:

The Eco Challenge
The Lexus' philanthropy program is divided into three periods, which each challenge students to tackle different environmental issues.

Challenge No. 1, “Land/Water,” begins on Sept. 27 and has students focused on finding solutions to environmental problems such as forest destruction, water conservation and the loss of biodiversity.

Registration for Challenge No. 2, “Air/Climate,” begins on Jan. 19, and draws participants’ attention to issues such as climate change, ozone depletion and renewable energy.

Participants in each phase are asked to identify a specific environmental issue they wish to focus on, devise a step-by-step plan for addressing the issue, describe how the team addressed the issue and implemented its plan, and evaluate the results of its actions.

The report has to be submitted at the Eco Challenge Web site by the deadline.

Class by its own

The Challenge is divided into two classes, one for students in grades six through eight, and the other for kids in grades nine through 12.

Teams must have between five and 10 students and include a teacher advisor.

Sixteen teams from each of the first two challenges will win $10,000 in scholarships and grants for their schools.

In addition, each of the winning teams will be invited to participate in the final round of the competition.

Eight first-place teams from the last round will be awarded $15,000 in grants and scholarships, while two grand-prize winners will each win $30,000.

Lexus is promoting the Challenge through traditional and social media channels, including its Twitter feed and its Facebook page, which has 120,000 fans.

Additionally, the automaker is encouraging its affiliated dealerships to contact local schools and parents to get them involved.

Finally, the automaker is working with book publisher Scholastic to distribute information about the program to schools.

“Scholastic has strong links to teachers and classrooms,” Ms. Hubbell said.

Green revolution
Lexus also promotes its environmental cachet through its Lexus Hybrid Living Web site, as well as through its line of hybrid vehicles.

Here is a screen grab of the Hybrid Living Web site:

The premium automaker currently offers four hybrid vehicles: the HS Hybrid 10 sedan, starting at $34,650; the RX Hybrid 10 crossover vehicle, starting at $42,685; the GS Hybrid 11 sedan, starting at $57,950; and the high-end LS Hybrid 10, which has a base price of $108,800.

Lexus intends to continue refining its Eco Challenge program.

“One of the beauties of this program is that it changes every year based on the ingenuity of the kids,” Ms. Hubbell said. “While we’ve tweaked the program a little bit each year, the basic format is similar.

“But each year, the teams of teens come up with more amazing projects than the teams before,” she said. “They want to stand out and they want to win, so the programs are getting better and more advanced.”

Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro, editorial assistant at Luxury Daily, New York